Copy of About

Creating Cultural Corrdidors

What we do

Live6 Alliance is a nonprofit planning and development organization that has a mission to enhance quality of life and economic opportunity in Northwest Detroit. The organization acts as a conduit between the institutions and their surrounding communities, with a particular focus on the McNichols and Livernois corridors. The organization actively serves the community in the following six program areas:

Real estate development

Business attraction & retention

Placemaking

Residential stabilization

Safety

Engagement

WHERE WE WORK

At the center of Live6 Alliance’s place-based investment strategy is Detroit’s Livernois and McNichols (6 Mile) commercial corridors. These corridors have long served as a vital backbone for the City, hosting a mix of shopping, employers, housing, and institutional activities, while connecting people and neighborhoods. Two of Detroit’s primary higher education institutions, University of Detroit Mercy and Marygrove College, are located at the meeting of these corridors. The area is defined by some of Detroit’s greatest assets — the Detroit Golf Club and Palmer Park offer world class open spaces, the historic Avenue of Fashion hosts businesses built on a long-legacy arts and culture, and strong and stable neighborhoods offer a diverse mix of housing that Detroit families have called home for decades.

WHO WE ARE

Live6 Alliance was formed in 2015 through a partnership of community, philanthropic and city stakeholders led by the University of Detroit Mercy.

STAFF

••• Cecily King, Executive Director

Cecily King is the executive director of Live6 Alliance. Prior to joining Live6, Cecily served as development director for the City of Detroit’s Housing & Revitalization Department. In this role, she oversaw more than $200 million of multifamily and mixed-use projects across the city. One of her key areas of focus was holistic, neighborhood-scale development.

Cecily has worked on real estate projects for private developers, large institutional clients, and universities around the country. She holds her Master’s in Real Estate Development from Columbia University as well as degrees from Princeton University and Lehigh University. She serves on several boards and committees including the Michigan Urban Land Institute Young Leader’s Group and the Association of Black Princeton Alumni.

••• Ajara Alghali, Program Manager

A Detroit native by birth but a self-proclaimed global citizen, Ajara Alghali, has spent much of her adult life traveling the globe, witnessing life across many cultures. She has a natural curiosity about people and will tell you that she's "never met a stranger". That very curiosity has allowed her to connect with people and share conversations about the human experience from a variety of cultural perspectives. Ajara has visited 21 countries and counting, and through her travels, she is reminded of the living spirit of the people of Detroit, their diversity, and the City's perseverance.

One who has traveled as much as Ajara, begins to collect not souvenirs, but experiences that aid in sparking innovation. By being able to observe closely the processes that are practiced in societies outside of her own familiar environment she's been able to apply even some of the simplest approaches from her global experiences to her work. As a seasoned program director, she demonstrates leadership and ambition for developing strategies that increase sustainability of education and community based programs.

Ajara hopes of making significant contributions to making Detroit a more culturally rich place to live. She prides herself in her ability to practice diplomacy while striving towards her goals. She received both her Bachelor and Master degrees from Wayne State University and continues to be very active in her spare time. Ajara sits on several community executive boards, is an alumni of the New American Leaders Project and the Great Lakes Leadership Academy. She also studies and teaches West African dance and has directed two documentaries.

••• Caitlin Murphy, RCC Coordinator

Caitlin Murphy serves as the Civic Commons Coordinator on behalf of Live6. “Reimagining the Civic Commons” is a national initiative that supports place-based efforts to catalyze lasting change through the creative use of civic assets. She strongly believes in the principles of the Civic Commons as a means to advocate for equitable neighborhood transformation through participatory engagement.

Caitlin grew up off of 6 Mile and has described her role with Live6 to be her “dream job”. She is an emerging leader in the field and is actively involved with local initiatives that promote economic justice and social innovation. She is a Fellow with Humanity in Action and StartingBloc and a self-proclaimed lifelong learner. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan’s Penny Stamps School of Art and Design and masters degree in Community Development from the University of Detroit Mercy.

••• Jeremy Lewis, Commercial Corridor Manager

A native Detroiter, Jeremy was raised in the Green Acres community neighboring the Live6 region. He graduated from Gesu Catholic School and the University of Detroit Jesuit High School before attending Hampton University majoring in Mass Media studies with a Media Sales concentration. After graduating he began his advertising sales career at the CNN in Atlanta, GA. His career later took him to New York City and Chicago working for WeatherBug, Chicago Tribune and Weather Channel. Although finding success in his sales roles, he knew that his skills and experiences were better served in Detroit. Upon returning, he joined the Osborn Neighborhood Alliance (ONA) team and led efforts to improve the area small business ecosystem. In this role, he combined his experiences creating business solutions and his passion for community impact. After scaling the Osborn Business Association, he joined the Detroit Regional Chamber as the Director of National Commerce Group Business Development, managing business solutions focused on small and medium sized businesses nationally. He is currently completing his Master of Community Development at University of Detroit Mercy and resides in the University District neighborhood with his wife. He serves the boards of ONA and Original Creativity; and is a Soulcial Scene partner.

••• Michael Forsyth, Strategy ConsultantMichael Forsyth joined Live6 Alliance as a founding member of the Executive Board in 2015. He saw an opportunity and need to add capacity to the young organization and joined the staff as Co-Director in 2017. He has since shifted to serve as a part-time, strategic adviser to the organization.

Prior to joining Live6, Michael Forsyth served as the Small Business Director with the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation for six years. While at DEGC, Michael designed and managed two-cutting edge programs, Motor City Match and REVOLVE Detroit to facilitate entrepreneurship, real estate development and arts investment in Detroit’s neighborhood business districts. Much of his work focused on the Livernois commercial district.

Michael is also a founding partner and owner of Detroit City Distillery in Eastern Market and Creative Place Consulting. Prior to his work in Detroit, Michael studied temporary use in Germany’s post-industrial cities and joined a Seattle consulting firm where he led a range of economic development projects. Michael attended Michigan State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and a master’s in Urban Planning.

COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD

The Community Advisory Board is a selection of neighborhood champions who have personal or professional stake in Live6’s focus area. The group serves as a guiding hand for Live6 activities by providing feedback, advice, and peer-review.